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In short
Planetary rays (rashmi) are a continuous measure from Saravali Ch. 36 of how far a planet stands from its deep debilitation point: no rays at debilitation, the maximum at exaltation. This app follows the school Saravali says most follow, 7 rays for every planet, and adds the seven grahas' rays into one banded total.
What the term means
A planet's rays are a count of how close it is to its exaltation rather than its debilitation. Unlike the stepped dignity labels (exalted, own sign, friend and so on), the ray count changes smoothly with every degree the planet moves.
Where the term comes from
Saravali Ch. 36 sets out two schools. One gives each planet its own maximum at exaltation (Sun 10, Moon 9, Mars 5, Mercury 5, Jupiter 7, Venus 8, Saturn 5); the other gives every planet 7, and the text says the "majority lean towards" that. All agree on zero at debilitation. Sl. 6 gives the method, Sl. 7-9 adjustments for the dwadasamsa, retrograde motion and combustion, and later slokas the effects of the total, in terms of status and villages ruled. BPHS has its own ray reckoning in Ch. 28 and a chapter on the effects of rays, Ch. 73.
How this app computes it
- For each of the seven grahas the engine takes the shorter arc between the planet and its deep debilitation degree and scales it to 0-7: 0 exactly at debilitation, 7 exactly at exaltation, which is always 180 degrees away.
- It uses the equal-7 school and does not apply the Sl. 7-9 adjustments; its code calls this the base ray figure, a stated simplification.
- The seven figures are added and the total banded as developing (up to 10), solid (up to 20), strong (up to 32), exceptional (up to 44) or outstanding. Saravali's status-and-villages table is not reproduced.
- The figures appear in the Kundali reading's Deep Dive. BPHS's Ch. 28 rays are used separately, for Ishta phala.
A small illustration
For 19 January 1985, 11:14 IST, New Delhi, Saturn has the most rays at 6.51 and Jupiter, close to its deep debilitation in Capricorn, the fewest at 0.11. The seven add to 26.51, which falls in the "strong" band.
Pages that use this term
- Sun in the 1st house - how the Sun's rays run from 0 to 7 across the rising signs.
- Moon in Vedic astrology - the continuous figure set beside the Moon's dignity.
- Mars in Vedic astrology - a graha page that reports Mars's rays.
- Aries (Mesha Rashi) - a sign page that refers to the ray count.
- Kundali features - where the per-planet rays and the total are shown.
Related terms
- Dignity - the stepped measure the rays complement.
- Kashta phala - BPHS's ray-based malefic tendency.
- Saravali - the source of this measure.